


Together

by pensversusswords



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, allura centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 14:05:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10248119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pensversusswords/pseuds/pensversusswords
Summary: “You are a good man, Takashi Shirogane,” Allura murmurs.“I’m nothing special,” he says, a small smile curling at the corners of his lips. “But I know I’m better when I’m with you.”“I think we are best together,” Allura whispers. “And I don’t mind running so much if you’re by my side.”





	

Sometimes, Allura feels like she’s spinning out of control, like she’s always stretching her arms out to touch something that always hovers just out of her reach. She worries that she’s always running towards something that doesn’t even exist, that she’s fighting every day and that it will all be to no avail, that it will all be for nothing.

 

She feels off balance. She’s always running forward, and what scares her the most is that she can’t stop. She feels like she’s running towards nothing, but she doesn’t have a home to turn around and go back to when she grows tired of running.

 

Some days, she feels this deep in her bones like a weary ache, and she feels like her heart being squeezed tight in her ribcage. She’s grieving, Coran tells her when she explains the heaviness in her chest. Of course she’s grieving, she thinks. She’s lost everything, after all.

 

Her sadness and grief finds her up on one of the observation decks one night, where she usually goes when she needs a few moments of peace. Watching the stars makes her feel better—they make her feel a little less out of control, lifts some of the weight off of her shoulders. The universe is so big and beautiful and vast, and it’s nice to feel small in comparison once in a while. She’s a princess to a lost nation, a commander, a pilot, leader of Voltron, the most powerful weapon in the known galaxy—but she’s also a grieving woman who feels too young for all of this most days. There’s comfort in feeling small and relatively insignificant.

 

“Allura?”

 

The familiar voice brings her back into the moment, and she turns to him with a smile she hopes doesn’t look too forced. “Sorry, Shiro. Did I disturb you when I left?”

 

Shiro shakes his head as he approaches her slowly. His brow is creased with concern, his hair mussed from sleep. The shock of white hair is sticking up a little bit. Allura’s heart clenches at the sight. “No, I woke up and you were already gone. Are you all right?”

 

Allura smiles tightly, reaches out a hand to him. “I am well, just feeling a bit restless. I couldn’t sleep.”

 

Shiro takes her hand willingly, his fingers curling around hers and squeezing gently. “Do you want to be alone, or would you like some company?”

 

Allura hesitates for a brief moment in consideration. It would be so easy to wallow in her sadness, let it consume her for the rest of the night. She could let it hover over her for days as she is plagued with thoughts of Altea, of her father, of her doubts and fears about defeating Zarkon. It would be so easy to get lost in those thoughts, and a part of her wants to. It’s so easy allow the darkness to swallow her whole and to fall victim to sadness and fear.

 

It’s a little more difficult, she thinks, to let someone in and remind herself that she deserves softness and comfort, but standing here with Shiro’s hand in her own, she knows that it’s worth it.

 

“Some company would be lovely, Shiro,” she decides aloud. This time her smile feels a little softer—still sad but a little less forced.

 

Shiro nods, and doesn’t hesitate to step closer to her. He moves behind her, slides his hands around her waist and folds her into a warm embrace. As if on instinct, like her body was made to fit against Shiro’s, she leans back into his arms and tips her head back a bit so it’s resting on his shoulder. Her hands find their place to rest on Shiro’s where they are clasped around her waist.

 

“Rough night?” he asks quietly. He punctuates the question with a soft kiss behind her ear.

 

Allura nods. They both have known their fair share of rough nights. Allura feels his sympathy and understanding in the way he tightens his arms comfortingly around her waist.

 

Shiro doesn’t ask. He doesn’t have to—the unspoken understanding between the two of them is enough for her to know he’s listening should she want to talk.

 

They stand there in silence for a while, Allura soaking up Shiro’s warmth as they look out at the stars, before she finally speaks.

 

“I do not like for the other paladins to know this,” she tells him, her voice quiet as though she is sharing a secret, “I must be brave for everyone’s sake, but I am fearful. I feel lost.”

 

Shiro hugs her tighter and presses his lips to her neck again, a whisper of a kiss. “You’re allowed to be scared, princess. We’re all scared.”

 

“Exactly,” Allura says. “They are scared and I am their leader. I have to be strong and not lead them astray. How can I do that when I feel this way? I am running without direction.”

 

“You are only one person, Allura,” Shiro tells her gently. “You are a great leader. The team respects you and looks up to you, but they do not expect you to be perfect. They need your guidance, yes, but they know you are only one person. They don’t expect more from you than you are able to give.”

 

“I must protect them.”

 

“We protect each other,” Shiro says firmly. He kisses her neck again, a silent reminder of his presence. “That’s what being a team means.”

 

Allura sighs, her eyes squeezing shut when they suddenly start to feel damp. She draws in a shuddering breath and begins to turn in Shiro’s arms, her eyes opening again when they’re face to face and her arms are reaching up to curl around his neck. “You are right, of course,” she says, giving him a watery smile. “How are you always right?”

 

Shiro grins back, tugs her in close against his chest. “I’m just telling you what you already know. My job is to give you a reminder when you need it.”

 

Allura laughs, tips her head up as Shiro leans down a bit to press his forehead against hers. She looks up into his eyes, those warm, familiar eyes that watch her with reverence and love, and she feels some of the ache in her bones fade away. She finds peace in his eyes, in his embrace, in his words. “You are a good man, Takashi Shirogane,” Allura murmurs.

 

“I’m nothing special,” he says, a small smile curling at the corners of his lips. “But I know I’m better when I’m with you.”

 

“I think we are best together,” Allura whispers. “And I don’t mind running so much if you’re by my side.”

 

“Me neither,” Shiro says. He leans in then to brush a kiss across her lips, a soft one that lingers for a long moment before Allura pulls away and draws him into a hug. She clutches him tight and buries her face in his neck.

 

“That’s why we’re a team,” Shiro continues, murmuring into her hair.

 

 Allura smiles against his neck. “Yes. We _are_ a team.”

 

Not everything, she thinks as she holds Shiro close. She hasn’t lost everything, and she’s gained so much more than she could have ever hoped for. Maybe, with Shiro and her team, she can find a home again.

**Author's Note:**

> Come join me on [tumblr](http://pensversusswords.tumblr.com)!


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